November 2008 to December 2009

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#269, December 2009 TOC Food and Population - it's not that there are too many of "them", it's that we are systematically robbing them of the capacity to feed themselvesEliminating Diversity - in paper for printing, seeds, dairy ...Ecological Absurdity - shipping hay from Ontario to Saudi Arabia!Climate Change - in the midst of the Copenhagen meetings, looking at the relation between sustainable agriculture and climate; also: The Angry Mermaid award goes to MonsantoMore on Monsanto:The real cost of GE seeds; A Questionable Legacy (Norman Borlaug as the spiritual father of Monsanto)Who's Who in Biotech Seeds - a current list of the main playersFish in Your Garden - Growing Power in Milwaukee has a unique and provocative urban agriculture set-up which includes raising fish in the inner cityBig Sky and small farms - Saskatchewan's largest pork producer folds its tents, leaving little for its farmer-suppliersTory spending makes priorities clear - cuts to food inspection staff and environmental programs

#268: October-November 2009 TOCClimate Leadership? - PM Harper seems determined to do nothing to address the world's greatest crisisMore pork, more contradictions - The pork producers' aid program is not likely to help muchThree Sisters and Friends - Henry Lickers draws out lessons from traditional Indigenous agricultureHalf-Baked Potato Turned Back - South Africa has rejected GM potatoes, citing inadequate testingThe Meaning of Monoculture - McDonald's governs the varieties commercial potato farmers must growDealing with distancing and energy - A grain CSA is shipping in sailboats across Kootenay Lake in BCIn other shipping news - US soy is turned away from European ports on reports of GM contaminationMaui bans GE Taro - Citing the cultural importance of taro, Maui rejects GEBig Meat - More mergers, this time JBS SA (Brazil) taking over US Pilgrim's PrideMeat Safety from Apples - A new edible film is claimed to stop pathogenic bacteria on meat surfacesIndia suspends approval of GE brinjal - A GM brinjal (eggplant) has been delayedElectronic vs. paper - Subscribers can choose either (or both) versions of the Ram's Horn.Students Wanted - by the organic agriculture curriculum at the University of GuelphLobbying - Immense spending by pharmaceutical industry

#267: September 2009 TOCThe Tyranny of Rights: introducing Brewster's new bookRoundup Kills -- weeds, and much more: new research shows that the so-called inert ingredients in Roundup are even more harmful than the glyphosatePublish and ... :Argentinian scientist is viciously attacked for exposing effects of glyphosate spray on peopleMore and more: more soy, more glyphosateCarry On Regardless: Dow and Monsanto continue to get approval of their new GE cropsSmarter Than They Look: apparently lambs can self-medicate"Mother Nature Is A Bad Person": according to persistent organic deniers Denis and Alex AveryReview of interesting work by The Nature Institute on the Goethean approach to science: much more respectful!Spreading Triffid: 8 years ago we reported Alan McHughen's flamboyantly self-serving release of GE flax; now Canadian farmers stand to lose their most inportant marketsCargill: information webs; bioplastics; attitude to organic and sustainable agricultureTapping into Bottled Water: more on Nestle's attempts to brand bottles as sustainableGet Rich Quick: 35% return promised on investment in agricultural land.

#265: June 2009 TOCPrison Farms: Corrections Canada is determined to close six prison farms which provide training and fresh food to the prisonersOntario Organic Turkey: outcry over a new regulation forcing turkey farmers to keep their birds in confinementHow Sweet It Is: Cargill wins at every turn with natural and artificial sweetenersRoundup Time: Chinese herbicides are cutting into Monsanto's profitsLove the Language!: Monsanto describes MonsantoA peoples' victory over Monsanto: South Africa: an environmental group does not have to pay court costs in suit against MonsantoLabour-intensive farming boosts development: conclusions of an"Agribusiness Forum" in South AfricaOutside the Box: Venezuelan President Chavez disrespects Tetra Pak's patentsOn the menu: Brazilian Amazon forest beef or Canadian grain-fed(feed-lot) beef: not much of a choice, is it?Uncivilized Behaviour from Dow: Dow is pushing 2,4D in Brazil -- a compound which is was part of the infamous 'Agent Orange'GMO Corn & Soy: Negligible Yield Increases: a new independent study shows that genetic engineering doesn't really increase yields

#264: May 2009 TOCSilencing Spring: Canadian government has taken 25 years to act against a toxic chemicalSerious Seeds: Patrick Steiner writes about the increase in independent seed businessDon't blame the pigs!: Cathy Holtslander explains how factory farming is the clear cause of diseases such as swine fluDying Hog Industry Asks for a Billion: Paul Beingessner describes the decline in pig farming after decades of financial disasterBillionaires' greed: CEOs continue to rip off immense compensationsKerala labourers return from Dubai: the loss of migrant jobs threatens poor communitiesFull Cost-Accounting: Corn-based ethanol uses 50 gallons of water per mile drivenMeat Packers Update: Competition Bureau has no trouble with only two corporations in meat packingGermany Bans Cultivation of Monsanto GM Maize: courts take the precautionary approachImposing a Business Model: AGRA is described as a way to build agri-business in Africa, not sustainable food productionFumigating Argentina: the use of glyphosate on GE soy is creating a health catastrophe in the rural sector"Transgenic treadmill": Glyphosate resistant johnsongrass is forcing more dependence on agri-technologyBrazil's Coffee Crop Threatened: climate change on top of the economic crisis will reduce Brazil's agriculture capacity

#263: March/April 2009 TOCSigns of spring: and hope in the resurgence of interest and action to create a sustainable local food system

#262: February 2009 TOCThree Blind Mice: Sarah Martin explores the three giants in the institutional foodservice business

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